Page 9 of The Remarkable Myth of a Nameless Lady
“More salt, Jane. They will want to be tasting the soup. Meghan, see to it the crust is thinner. They like it thin as paper though heaven knows it’s impossible to brown evenly. Patrice, we’ll be needing another half dozen potatoes, at least.” Mistress Marigold paused to take breath, standing for a moment in the center of the kitchen with a satisfied look upon her face. This was clearly her domain, and she was content in it.
Alicia chose that moment to dart forward. “Mistress Marigold? My name is Alicia Price. I was sent from the village to take the place of Elspeth.”
She felt tiny standing next to this giant of a woman, who looked her up and down. For a moment, Alicia held her breath, knowing full well she saw what everyone else did, what that annoying Duke did today. That she was small, and her bones were fine and delicate, giving her the look of one who would fall over in a strong wind.
But whatever Marigold saw pleased her, for she simply said, “You’ll do. Come with me.” And just like that, Alicia was put to work.
With scarce more than a minute to lay her bag in a tiny room upstairs that she would be sharing with Meghan, the girl rolling out the pastry crust, Alicia found herself thrust into a dish room between kitchen and dining room, and was bid to polish silver until it was time to set the table.
Everything at Ravencliff was done quickly. Alicia was swept from one task to the next with such speed that in seemingly no time at all, she was told to neaten herself to be ready to serve at table. She found herself crowded alongside another three girls at the washbasin, overwhelmed, and quite frankly wondering how it was that anyone in town thought she’d have time to spy out any information at all when she was so busy.
“Is it always like this?” she asked in a quiet whisper as she rinsed the polish from her hands.
The girls exchanged glances and laughed. “You will soon grow accustomed to it,” Meghan said, and the others, two brown-haired girls that looked very alike, nodded. “Though to be sure, having the Duke himself at home has made us perhaps busier than usual. I expect things will settle soon enough.”
“Girls! The first course!”
The shout from Marigold broke up the group and they scurried to pick up the dishes they would serve, filing out of the kitchen with a seriousness that Alicia strove to match though her thoughts were racing.The Duke!For a time, she had almost forgotten the unpleasant encounter on the road, and the even more troubling one in the village. Now, she would be forced to face him here, in his own home.
Her hands had just the merest of quavers as she set the tureen upon the table and turned with the intent of returning to the kitchen. She’d been careful to keep her eyes down, her attention on her work and not on those she served, but her name, spoken by that cultured voice, paused her in her duties. She looked up in dismay to find the Duke himself wanting her attention.
“You there! If you could perhaps fetch me a fresh napkin. I appear to have spilled my wine.” The Duke smiled at her from his seat at the head of the table, lifting the soaked napkin to her view.
Not something her fault then, and easily remedied. “Right away, Your Grace.” She reached to take the soiled cloth from his hand and quickly fetched a fresh one from the drawer where the linens were kept. She presented it to him with a slight curtsey.
His fingers brushed hers as he took it from her, sending a soft warmth stealing through her flesh. Startled, she glanced up into his eyes and found him smiling at her, as though amused. “There is no need to run,” he chided her gently.
Alicia blushed. She had rather dashed in the errand, not wanting to take time from whatever other duties awaited her. “I am sorry, Your Grace.”
“You will grow used to it in time. I should think, as in any task, that pacing oneself is optimal,” he said softly, for her ears alone, then turned back to his conversation with the lady seated at his left as though he had not spoken to her at all.
Clearly dismissed, and not sure whether his words had been meant as censure or kindness, Alicia slipped into the kitchen, not entirely sure why she felt so close to tears. She was still holding the soiled napkin and had no idea where to put it, or even what next to do.
Her mixed feelings must have shown on her face, for in the next moment, warm motherly arms came around her in a brief hug. “There now, girl. Jane told me the whole thing. You have not done so poorly as all that. You will learn in time to spot such things and be ready to attend to them, and will learn how we do things here.”
Mistress Marigold’s words were meant kindly. Alicia nodded and tried to smile, though the effort was hard. She did not cry, though, and of that she was proud. “Thank you, Mistress. I truly do wish to learn to do things properly.”
Mistress Marigold laughed and gave her a push toward the dishes waiting to be served. “This is no slapdash boarding house. They expect to be waited upon with a quickness that is not shown through exertion. Take a moment to breathe! When the girls come back with the empty tureens, it will be time to deliver the next course. There is a trick to it. Watch as they do.”
There was a trick to it. Alicia watched as the other girls somehow managed to look unhurried, yet still very quickly had the next course upon the table. They also managed to note misplaced utensils and napkins, offering replacements as needed, without need to say so much as a word.
All of this was very different from keeping a house for herself and her father. Meals there were so much simpler. Alicia’s hair clung to her sweaty forehead by the time they had finished serving the meal and were given leave to eat their own dinner. She barely tasted the food, so weary was she.
“So will you be doing as Elspeth did, then?” Meghan asked as she brought her plate to sit next to her on the long bench at the kitchen table.
For a moment Alicia froze. Elspeth had been bid to keep eyes and ears open for information that would be pertinent to the cause. How many people had she brought in on this secret? Was the cause of the Ribbonmen already in danger with her only three hours in the house?
It was Mistress Marigold who answered. “I expect we’ll try her on it and see how it goes. Elspeth did much of the heavier work. Do you have any special skills? Perhaps you bake or weave? One of our weavers left us yesterday, and we’re in sore need of a replacement.”
They were not speaking of the mission, then, only work within the house. She thought quickly and managed a short laugh. “I am not so skilled as all that. While I know how to boil a potato, my kitchen skills leave much to be desired if my father is any judge. I am sturdier than I look, though, and am very good at cleaning. And I have an eye to arranging a room pleasantly.”
Mistress Marigold thought a moment and nodded. “Let me talk to the housekeeper. Perhaps she will try you tomorrow on tidying the rooms in the morning and see how it goes. I would be curious to hear your thoughts about the arrangements of the furniture in the east parlor. I always felt the room felt stuffy and close. It might be a change would be beneficial. Not that any of that is my domain,” she said with a sniff.
Alicia nodded, trying hard not to look too pleased at this news, though inwardly she cheered. A chance to nose about the rooms would gain her far more than being restricted to kitchen or at the loom.
Maybe, if I am fortunate, I will be given leave to tend to the study where I might examine the Duke’s correspondence. Were I to give the Ribbonmen something solid that they could use, some information that would benefit the cause directly, I might be allowed to go home, and leave this nonsense behind. The last thing I want to do is to stay here any longer than I have to.
Chapter 6
